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7 tips for writing effective alt text

1. If you’re including words that matter, make sure they’re text, not part of an image.
2. If images matter, make sure they have alt text.
3. Caption your videos (and describe key visuals that aren’t obvious from the dialogue).
4. Keep it short. Describe what’s essential—not every detail. What would someone need to know if they couldn’t see it?
5. Don’t say “image of.” Screen readers already know it’s an image.
6. If an image is decorative and adds no value? Leave the alt text empty. (Yes, that’s okay, not everything needs a description.)
7. Focus on purpose, not aesthetics. Alt text should sound natural, clear, and human.

Examples of bad vs. good alt text

Example: Diagram of a workflow

• Bad: “Image of a flowchart with boxes and arrows.”
• Good: “A workflow showing the three steps for submitting an expense report, including: 1. Upload receipts. 2. Submit spreadsheet with totals. 3. Update quarterly budget.”

Example: Photo of people collaborating

• Bad: “Group of four people sitting at a table smiling.”
• Good: “Team members collaborating during a project planning session.”

Example: A chart showing a sales increase

• Bad: “Bar chart with blue and green bars representing quarterly growth.”
• Good: “Our Q1 and Q2 sales comparative chart shows Q1 sales at $1,000,000 and Q2 sales at $1,200,000 for a sales increase of 20% from Q1 to Q2.”

Bottom line

If an image helps your learners understand something, be sure to describe what they need to know from that image clearly, simply, and with any specific detail needed to have a full understanding.

Don’t forget videos…

If anything is show in a video that isn’t read aloud, learners may be missing out on that information or context. Just as with alt tags, if you’re showing something important, be sure to describe it.

For a video, this means having the narrator or speaker read out any important information that’s on screen, which then ensures it’s in captions and transcripts for easy readability.

Follow these tips and other accessibility best practices to help every learner engage with your course content.

The post A guide for writing effective alt text for learning content appeared first on Say Yeah!.

When your course feels heavy, overwhelming, or hard to finish, cognitive load may be the culprit.

Here’s a quick checklist to help lighten that load so learners stay engaged and actually absorb what you’re teaching.

Listen

Read

Chunk your content

Break big topics into smaller, bite-sized sections. Think “one idea per screen” or “one task at a time.”

Sequence logically

Build a clear path: what should learners understand first, next, and last? Avoid jumping around or assuming learners can connect all the dots on their own.

Optimize prior knowledge

If learners need background info, provide it first — or at least activate what they already know before diving in.

Minimize distractions

Remove unnecessary visuals, animations, or awkward interface elements that pull attention away from core learning.

Use modelling or step-by-step examples

Use demonstrations and worked examples to reduce guesswork and help learners focus on what matters.

Use multimedia wisely

Complement visuals, text, and audio — but avoid overloading.

Don’t just duplicate content across modalities in a way that forces learners to review the material without consideration of how each modality can best be used to support the content; let each format support learning in its own way.

Pro tip

Sometimes as experts, we’re blind to cognitive load — we forget what it’s like to not know.

Step back and ask:

What’s essential here?

Where might someone new to the topic struggle to keep up?

Use this checklist as a quick review anytime you’re preparing or revising a course.

Remember: reducing cognitive load isn’t about simplifying your content — it’s about making the content work for learners rather than making learners work harder to unpack the content.

Dig deeper into cognitive load and dual coding theory

If you’d like to dig deeper into the learning science related to both the cognitive load and dual coding theories, I encourage you to follow Dr Nidhi Sachdeva, who demonstrated these best practices at this year’s Canadian eLearning Conference.

You can also subscribe to the latest learning + technology insights from me, Say Yeah CEO, Lee Dale.

Sign me up

The post The learner-focused 6-step cognitive load checklist appeared first on Say Yeah!.

We’re passionate about turning technological insights and tools into real learning impact. This year’s conference theme—Shake It Up!—is the perfect prompt to think about the untapped potential we can unlock when training programs responsibly leverage digital tools, AI, and data. When we move beyond traditional methods and embrace scenario-based, data-driven learning, we accellerate learning transfer, ultimately leading to improved workplace performance. And that’s why we’re pleased to be sponsoring this years conference.

Check out your conference tote bag for a handy Say Yeah notebook and capture all your favourite conference insights.

Topics covered in this year’s program include measuring training ROI, upskilling and reskilling, and the neuroscience of learning. We’re also excited to see two of our favourite topics on the agenda: adaptive learning technology and learner accessibility.

What you can expect at the I4PL 2024 Annual Conference

From hands-on workshops, to thought-provoking keynotes, to learning from peers, there’s a lot happening at this year’s conference. Here are a few sessions we’re particularly looking forward to:

• Keynote presentations by Dr. Helen Papagiannis and Dan Pontefract
• Behaviour Change: The Bridge to Measuring Impact with Chris Taylor
• Practitioner Created, Research Validated Design Principles for Online Learning with Dr. Elizabeth Childs
• How Might AI Affect Your Work as an Instructional Designer and L&D Professional? with Saul Carliner & Giuliana Cucinelli
• Powerful Prompt Engineering for Instructional Design with Garima Gupta
• Maximizing Impact: Creating Authentic Learning Experiences and Measurable Results at TD Wealth with Randy Sabourin & Courtney Appleby
• Shaking Up the Traditional Train-the-Trainer Model with Moe Poirier

View the full conference schedule

Ready to transform your training programs?

Let’s elevate your training programs with human-centered learning technology. Together, we’ll help you more effectively meet learners where they are and set personalized pathways for improved workplace performance.

Let’s talk

The post I4PL 2024 Annual Conference, November 21-22, 2024 appeared first on Say Yeah!.

The Articulate Rise web-based authoring tool has been a boon to course creators looking to build interactive, mobile-friendly online courses without deep technical skills.

Rise already does so many things well—from allowing for responsive design to incorporating interactive content blocks—but there are clear opportunities to improve accessibility, flexibility, and engagement. We’ve taken Rise to the next level by creating an add-on that lets users listen to the content immersively as they engage with media and interactive content, while allowing course managers to easily update content on an ongoing basis.

Trust us, it’s cool. Get a feel for Rise & Shine.

Let’s explore what Shine is and how it can provide a better user experience for your learners.

Shine makes every Rise course more engaging and accessible

No question, Rise is a great tool for course creators, but there are a number of out-of-the-box constraints for learners. The model of Rise courses is a slide-show style standard that’s augmented by an overreliance on animation that isn’t as immersive, flexible, or comfortable for every learner as it should be.

To address this, we created an immersive read-along narration that works with all standard Rise elements across a course. Easy to setup and seamless to update, courses become more immersive, flexible, and accessible for every learner.

Here’s how it works.

Automatic integration into existing content

Shine automatically syncs its narration—not only with text-based content, but with interactive Rise blocks too—as learners are guided through the course. This includes headings, quotes, images, lists, and more. The add-on requires no additional technical set-up—making enhancing existing courses quick and simple, and easy to update if you need to make any changes to course content.

Customization options

Learners have different preferences as to how they engage with course content. Shine empowers every learner to choose the path that best suits them. Each learner can control and adjust the speed of spoken content, while automatically scrolling through the text to create an immersive, hands-free learner experience.

You get to choose from multiple voices to match the tone of the course and adjust settings for more accessible text sizes, voice integration, and animations.

Enhanced interactivity

Shine makes spoken playback more engaging by automatically incorporating visual elements like tabs, accordions, and flash cards provided by standard Rise blocks.

Learners can also follow the narrated content while simultaneously interacting with multimedia elements, such as videos, quizzes, and clickable scenarios.

And audio prompts remind learners when their input is needed for assessments or other types of engagements, ensuring everyone gets to experience the full, expanded, and immersive learning experience of Rise & Shine.

Try out the latest demo at https://shine.sayyeah.courses

Compatibility

Shine is compatible across all devices and platforms. Whether learners access a course on a desktop, tablet, or mobile device, the narration will function smoothly, providing a consistent and seamless learning experience. Simply put: Shine works where Rise works, augmenting your Rise courses wherever they’re accessed.

Let’s highlight Shine’s benefits for learners

Improved accessibility

Shine makes Rise courses even more accessible by allowing learners with visual impairments, reading difficulties, or other specific learning needs more options for how they access and engage with the course content.

Increased engagement

Shine not only adds greater interactivity to courses, it also creates a multi-sensory experience that can help clarify complex ideas and reinforce key points.

A more flexible learning experience

Shine makes it easy for learners to access their online courses on any device, whether at home, work, class, or on a commute, while tailoring the learning experience to their preferences.

How does Rise & Shine work?

Unlocking these benefits couldn’t be easier.

You simply take your Rise course package, drop it into Shine, choose a voice, and let the magic happen. You then take your Shined Rise package, publish it as you usually do, and you’re done!

Need to make changes?

No trouble! Update your course content in Rise and drop the latest version back into Shine. Shine will automatically update all the audio based on the latest course content and you’ll get your latest Shined Rise package back.

Shine for Rise courses is available now!

Get in touch today to get started or for a personalized Shine demo.

Get in touch for a custom demo

See Shine in action

The post Introducing Rise & Shine, an automated and immersive voice add-on for Rise courses appeared first on Say Yeah!.

Here are a couple of key takeaways we wanted to share:

On Designing for Accessibility

One of the most powerful insights was the idea that simplicity is key. Trying to add features for everyone can paradoxically make your interface or product less accessible. The best approach? Do less, but do it better. Simplicity provides an important pathway to improve accessibility.

Catch this and more insights from Heydon Pickering’s talk, The Folly of Chasing Demographics.

On Inclusive Co-Design

A common industry ethos is that Blind people are seen as recipients of design, not creators. Chancey Fleet is flipping that ehtos on its head! With an amazing mix of tactile design tools, Chancey has been bringing Blind designers together to co-create incredible outcomes. This shift is crucial for inclusive design, breaking barriers and rethinking what’s possible when sighted and Blind designers collaborate.

Catch the inspiring case study from Chancey and collaborator Lauren Race, Inclusive Methods for Co-design Between Blind and Sighted Designers.

Inspired by these talks? Don’t stop there! All the 2024 talks are available for free on YouTube.

Browse all the talks on YouTube

And a big thank you to all the organizers and participants for fostering such important conversations. We look forward to applying these learnings to our own work at Say Yeah, helping us continue to deliver more inclusive products, service, and learning programs.

Looking for the latest inclusive design insights?

Get in touch to apply inclusive design practices in your day to do work and sign up to the newsletter for forward-thinking tools and best practices.

Get in touch Sign up to the Say Yeah newsletter

The post Inclusive Design 24, 2024 Conference Recap appeared first on Say Yeah!.

Join us at the annual (free!) Inclusive Design 24 Conference (#id24) where Say Yeah CEO Lee Dale will be hosting two exciting sessions.

• The Folly of Chasing Demographics, in which presenter Heydon Pickering will challenge the conventional approach to designing for people with disabilities and provide insights into creating more inclusive and respectful digital experiences. 3 p.m. EST (19:00 UTC)
• Inclusive Methods for Co-Design Between Blind and Sighted Designers, in which speakers Chancey Fleet and Lauren Race will show how Blind and sighted designers can work together to bypass inaccessible design tools and create meaningful, collaborative design practices that ultimately reduce ableism in the field. 4 p.m. EST (20:00 UTC)

At Say Yeah, we’ve long been a champion and leader in the field of inclusive design (check out Lee Dale’s 2021 #id24 presentation, “There is no average person.”) and are the cutting edge of using AI to personalize eLearning (check out our latest developments: automated multi-modal elearning and multi-lingual elearning). So we’re always excited to get together with experts, designers, and advocates from around the world at this unique 24-hour online event to share insights and innovations that make digital content accessible to everyone. We’re big believers that eLearning that is inclusive and engaging for all your employees is eLearning that maximizes ROI and grows the capacity and capability of your organization.

What else you can expect at this year’s Inclusive Design 24 (#id24)

In short, great content on accessibility, intersectionality, gamification, UX design, and more. For example:

• How Many Senses Do You Think You Have? with Kaye Moors and Lizzie Hamblin (16:00 UTC)
• Neuro-Diversifying Tech: A Toolkit for Designing with Autistic People with Simona Manni and Belen Barros Pena (17:00 UTC)
• Accessibility beyond WCAG: EAA & EN 301 549 with Wilco Fiers (18:00 UTC)

View the full conference schedule

Watch the conference

This event is free, with no registration required. Join the conversation live on the Inclusive 24 YouTube channel.

Are you delivering organizational eLearning that maximized accessibility and engagement of all employees?

We help you deliver more accessible eLearning that includes manageable multi-modal content and integrated multi-lingual content to effectively engage every employee. We’d love to show you.

Book a demo

The post Inclusive Design 24 Conference #id24, September 12, 2024 appeared first on Say Yeah!.

Much of this work is driven by English-language business. So much so that organizations we’ve worked with in South America, the Middle East, and South Asia have asked us to focus on English-language training for their staff and students.

The intention behind this English-first approach is to grow capacity and capability in doing business globally, but the result can make onboarding, upskilling, and collaboration more difficult.

Through our ongoing research and practice at Say Yeah, we asked: how might we improve how language is incorporated in learning programs to better enable a global and diverse workforce?

Let’s take a look at how this works.

Getting started with an English-language course is common across the globe. In the examples that follow, we’ll reference our Practical Inclusive Design course.

One of the key considerations (and gaps we see across courses) is that, while new terms are consistently introduced to learners throughout a course, there’s no easy way to gather or reference those terms.

A Glossary should be standard across all courses.

A Glossary is a central reference for learners to jog their memory related to key topical terms. And it allows for so much more.

In addition to gathering key terms related to a course topic, we can move beyond the written word to incorporate audio. This helps learners not just see and spell a word, but also incorporate it into their vocabulary with confidence, whether reading, writing, or speaking.

Better still, we can expand the capabilities of a glossary to include the most common languages spoken in a region, workplace, or with global partners. In our course example, we’ve included English, French, Spanish, and Arabic.

You can easily add more languages that may be relevant to your workforce or group of learners.

Now you can prepare for a discussion with a colleague who speaks another language by reading and listening to those keywords relevant to your conversation in their native language.

And there’s more.

The foundation of the glossary allows for new integrated multi-lingual references across an entire course. Consider when you’re working through a new course, coming across new terms.

On any page of a course, the terms you may not be familiar with are highlighted. By clicking on the term, not only do you see the definition in the language of the course, but you can hear how this word sounds.

If you’re new to English, you can see the word in your native language to help you make the connection to this new English term.

Or, if you’re collaborating with a colleague who prefers a language other than English, you can review the word in their language and join them in conversation.

This kind of integrated multi-lingual learning is a natural evolution for eLearning that we can help you provide, whether integrating these capabilities within your existing eLearning authoring tools or helping you get started.

Get in touch today to talk about how we can help your entire organization learn and work smarter.

Let’s talk

The post Introducing integrated multi-lingual learning for global workforces appeared first on Say Yeah!.

At Say Yeah, we’re passionate about ensuring everyone has equal access to information and technology and prioritize accessibility in eLearning. However, we recognize that good intentions alone don’t always drive real progress.

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits and limitations of adopting EN 301 549 and what it means—and doesn’t mean—for enhancing accessibility for all.

What is the new accessibility standard EN 301 549?

EN 301 549 is a set of rules and guidelines designed to ensure that ICT products and services are accessible to people with disabilities. This includes things like websites, software, mobile apps, electronic devices, and more. The goal is to make sure that everyone, regardless of their abilities, can use these technologies effectively.

Why is EN 301 549 significant?

There are 6 significant outcomes of Canada adopting EN 301 549:

• Unified national standard
• Alignment with international standards
• Comprehensive coverage
• Promotion of inclusive design
• Potential to drive innovation
• Legal and regulatory clarity

Let’s explore these in more detail.

Unified national standard

Previously, accessibility standards varied across different provinces in Canada. Adopting EN 301 549 creates a single, cohesive standard that applies nationwide, ensuring consistency in accessibility requirements.

Alignment with international standards

By adopting a European standard, Canada aligns itself with global best practices in accessibility. This harmonization can facilitate international trade and cooperation, and make it easier for multinational companies to comply with accessibility requirements in multiple regions.

Comprehensive coverage

EN 301 549 covers a wide range of ICT products and services, from websites and software to mobile apps and hardware devices. This comprehensive approach ensures that accessibility is considered across all forms of digital interaction.

Promotion of inclusive design

The standard emphasizes integrating accessibility into the design and development process from the start. This proactive approach encourages the creation of more inclusive products and services, rather than retrofitting accessibility features later.

Potential to drive innovation

With a clear set of guidelines, companies are encouraged to innovate and develop new solutions that meet accessibility requirements. This can lead to advancements in technology that benefit everyone, not just those with disabilities.

Legal and regulatory clarity

Having a unified standard provides clearer guidelines for businesses and organizations, reducing confusion and helping them understand their legal obligations. This can lead to better compliance and improved accessibility across the board.

So what can we do better?

To truly improve accessibility, we must go beyond checklists and focus on understanding how people with disabilities interact with digital platforms. This involves:

Improving user experiences

Ensuring that digital interfaces are not only compliant but also user-friendly for individuals with disabilities. This requires continuous internal and user testing that includes feedback from the disability community.

Clarity in validation

Developing clear and practical methods to validate an accessible user experience that goes beyond general references to the WCAG. This should involve real-world testing and user validation to ensure that accessibility features genuinely enhance user experiences, but it begins with educating and practicing accessibility across content, design, and code.

At Say Yeah, we are committed to this approach. We believe that accessibility should be about creating inclusive and engaging experiences for all users.

To learn more, check out these three resources that highlight different ways people interact with websites, and the importance of improving these experiences and methods to ensure quality:

A look at the accessibility issues you probably forgot to test for

Delivering accessible online courses

An exciting inflection point for accessibility and inclusion

You can also dive deeper into the challenges of focusing solely on compliance with the 2023 AODA legislative review commissioned by the Ontario Government.

We are thrilled to see Canada taking steps toward a comprehensive accessibility standard, but we recognize that there is still much work to be done.

By prioritizing user experiences and developing clearer validation methods, we can create a more inclusive and equitable digital landscape for everyone.

Looking to deliver more accessible and inclusive digital experiences? We’re here to help.

Get in touch

The post Canada adopts new accessibility standard: EN 301 549 appeared first on Say Yeah!.

This new technology:

• opens up course accessibility
• automates personalization for learners
• remains portable and compatible with existing LMS and HRIS systems.

And it’s only available from Say Yeah!

Let’s explore why this is so important and how it works.

There’s a fundamental challenge with learning where most courses—whether online, hybrid, in a classroom, or led by a workplace trainer—follow a single, typically lecture-based model.

One course, delivered one way, for everyone.

The challenge is, people learn in different ways. And this single model or format for delivering a course doesn’t help everyone learn and grow with confidence.

That’s a problem for workplace preparedness and development, where success is measured by growing the capacity and capability of everyone on a team.

To address this, we’ve developed a software framework that helps you deliver next-generation learning programs to everyone, whether you’re launching a brand new course, or working with an existing LMS or HRIS system.

I’d like to share with you a transformative shift in eLearning that celebrates and supports every learner, giving them the options they need to engage more effectively with course content in order to move from knowledge to action in their day-to-day work. ~ Say Yeah CEO, Lee Dale

When we develop a course together, we combine course content best practices with the latest AI-powered eLearning automations to quickly and easily expand single-track learning to allow people to watch, listen, or read a course.

Included is the ability for every learning to adjust the settings to their ideal:

• Auto advance to the next lesson to keep the course material flowing.
• Scroll with spoken text and have the video move along with you. The video anchors in the corner and the screen scrolls to the text that’s being spoken.
• Highlight spoken text so you can follow along with the narration even more closely.

The settings are designed to support multiple learning modes so every learner can work through the course in a way that works best for them, with the flexibility to adjust at any time.

A sample course interface showing how text highlights as video and audio play and all the available settings adjustments you may choose from.

Impressively, our software accelerates the previously manual process of creating multiple formats for content by leveraging subject matter expertise, instructional design expertise, custom code, and artificial intelligence to quickly and automatically deliver multiple formats that support every learner.

So what used to be difficult to make and manage becomes almost automatic to create, and effortless to update.

Get in touch today to transform your learning programs with automated personalization and discover the impact of adaptive eLearning.

Let’s talk

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